{"id":2452,"date":"2026-07-01T09:36:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2452"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:36:30","slug":"columbias-old-lutheran-seminary-campus-is-changing-hands-whos-the-buyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2452","title":{"rendered":"Columbia\u2019s old Lutheran seminary campus is changing hands. Who\u2019s the buyer?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The former Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary campus just outside  downtown Columbia will soon be teeming with students again.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2450\">Decker fires were set on purpose at prominent developers\u2019 vacant Columbia sites<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Columbia charter school has agreed to buy the nearly 18-acre property, which has been vacant since January 2025, when its owner, Lenoir-Rhyne University, integrated the seminary\u2019s operations into its main campus in Hickory, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Clear Dot Charter School, a K-12 school in downtown Columbia that serves mostly low-income, minority students, recently agreed to purchase the seminary property for an undisclosed sum.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 196-year-old theological school\u2019s holdings, which include 18 parcels in the Seminary Ridge neighborhood between Monticello Road and North Main Street, have a combined market value of more than $23 million, according to Richland County property data.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis campus represents more than additional space,\u201d Clear Dot CEO Lindsey Ott said in a statement announcing the purchase. \u201cFor generations, this property has served as a place of learning in our community. We are honored to continue that legacy while creating new opportunities for students and families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The sprawling seminary campus, which Clear Dot intends to use as a middle and high school, has more than 130,000 square feet of facilities, including a chapel, auditorium, library, student union, administrative facilities and student dorms capable of housing 116 students, according to its real estate listing.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In addition to its on-campus housing, the seminary\u2019s holdings also include five single-family homes and two multifamily properties \u2014 Smith Family Village and Hillcrest Apartments \u2014 which each contain multiple apartment units, Lenoir-Rhyne spokeswoman Amanda Smith said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>An 8,000-square-foot building across North Main Street from the seminary that until May had housed Lenoir-Rhyne\u2019s occupational therapy program will also be included in the sale, she said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we continue to steward the university\u2019s resources responsibly and align our physical footprint with current and future needs, we are encouraged that this historic campus will continue serving students through an educational mission,\u201d Lenoir-Rhyne President Summer McGee said in a statement announcing the sale. \u201cIt is especially meaningful to see a place with such a rich history of learning and leadership continue to serve future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Ott said acquiring the seminary property, located about 2 \u00bd miles from Clear Dot\u2019s Marion Street campus, will allow the charter school to expand and serve more students throughout the Midlands.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a really big step,\u201d she said Tuesday in an interview with The State Media Co. \u201cBut it really was based on student enrollment, and a setting that\u2019s going to be really positive for my older kids and conducive to learning and to growing as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Clear Dot, which had 426 students last year, has been trying to find a larger property since even before it opened in 2019.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Officials originally intended the school\u2019s home on Marion Street, next door to the historic Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, to be a temporary location.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2449\">Second mother arrested in connection to shootout in the Summit, sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But plans to relocate to larger properties \u2014 first, the former Jim Moore Cadillac dealership on the 2200 block of North Main Street, and later, a property in the 600 block of Elmwood Avenue \u2014 were stymied by neighborhood opposition.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Expanding to the seminary property should allow Clear Dot to eventually double its enrollment to about 850 students, Ott said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The school\u2019s immediate plan calls for moving its high school, which is housed in a portable trailer next to the Marion Street building, to the former occupational therapy facility across the street from the seminary.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Clear Dot\u2019s roughly 150 high school students will occupy the occupational therapy building this fall, while renovations are made to Beam Hall, the oldest building on the seminary campus, Ott said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Once the 115-year-old structure is up to code, Clear Dot plans to move its high school to Beam Hall and transition its middle school to the occupational therapy building.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Down the road, the school also plans to use the student union building adjacent to Beam Hall, which has a commercial kitchen, student activity area, weight room and dining area, and the campus quad that connects many of the seminary\u2019s buildings.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe quad area is what we\u2019re really excited to get into so our kids have that nice courtyard to utilize,\u201d Ott said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>She said Clear Dot would be keeping all the seminary\u2019s academic buildings, but did not have plans to use the dormitory and apartments included in its purchase of the property. School officials are working with local institutions that may need additional student housing to make use of that space, Ott said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Clear Dot\u2019s elementary-age students will remain at the Marion Street campus, where a new First Steps 4K program will open this fall in an adjacent building.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Ott said the seminary property was attractive to Clear Dot because many of its students live in the area and would benefit from early exposure to a college environment.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re also really excited about the opportunity to carry on the mission of the seminary,\u201d she said. \u201cI know the seller was very interested in maintaining the original purpose and having someone mission-aligned to come in and take that over, and we fit that bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2448\">Ex-S.C. corrections officer caught raking in more than $550K in inmate bribes<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lenoir-Rhyne University has reached an agreement to sell the former Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia to Clear Dot Charter School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Columbia\u2019s old Lutheran seminary campus is changing hands. 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